The photo above isn’t Glastonbury Tor, this is the wishing tree at Avebury Stones, where we stopped on our journey home. I didn’t take any pictures of us at the Tor, I didn’t want to but I’d like to write about it on my blog.

I enjoy keeping fit, it’s something I’ve done the majority of my life but what I’ve come to learn from my deep studies of yoga, is that yoga and fitness are completely 2 separate things. So I’m going to keep it that way. Read the rest of this entry »

Hi Blog! Sorry it’s been such a long time since I wrote about my urban trek adventures with Rosie-Moo. Unfortunately Rosie-Moo hasn’t been able to come with me because of her degenerative bone condition and because I missed being out with her so much, I didn’t do any treks. Anyway, I’ve been working hard on Rosie-Moo’s rehab and she is doing splendid, happy days.

I stole this meme from a friend of mine, thought it perfect to use, to let you know, that we’re getting back to having trek adventures and telling you all about them. I’ll write again soon, to tell you about Rosie-Moo and how she is doing, that Trixiebells is also amazing, you wouldn’t recognise her from when she first came to live with us and Asbo, he hasn’t changed at all.

Sorry I’ve been a stranger but thanks blog for hanging in there. I didn’t stay in touch because 2015 was too negative, so yeah ok, talking about unhappy stuff can help but I really needed to go away and deal with it on my own. Anyway, that was then and this is now and life couldn’t be any better.

You’ll be glad to hear that I stayed dedicated to my practice, it got me through the lowest of the lows. I did my pilgrimage to India and went to Australia, which I will share with you as we go through 2016 where I’m doing another pilgrimage to India and off to Botswana, amazing.

The dogs are doing great, Asbo no change, Rosie-Moo has had to slow things down because she has bone disease in both her elbows and Trixie-Bells is just crackers. Planning on getting back to our trekking adventures so stay posted for that.

Cycling is fantastic, I love it, seriously thinking about getting a GPS to log my distance and time. Mmmmmmmm see how the funds go.

Slacklining, didn’t go on it last year, put it on the back burner so I could stay focused on the yoga. Glad I did, I’m ready to start again come spring.

Cooking, obviously good and will try to post you stuff about that too but don’t wait up for that cos I probably too busy with all the other stuff.

Feels good to be back and I’m looking forward to keeping you up to date with stuff.

Rosie-Moomoo and I haven’t trekked since January 31st, this year. Fractured left fibular but hay today was our first day back at it was perfect, weather warm, blue skies, smiling sun and just a little breeze. Not only that, we got to the lake, set down the yoga mat and had a 30 minute practice in the company of Mother Nature. Feels so good I can tell you! Walking is amazing and walking with Rosie is amazeballs. Anyway, we were fortunate to share our little yoga session with 2 young swans. Think they are the signets that were living on the lake from last year, obvious they are signets cos they still have some grey feathers. Anyway, they were totally baffled by what the human (me) was doing on their jetty and cautious of the carnivore (Rosie) sitting at the edge of the jetty watching them.

I wonder if the people who work in the offices that over look the lake have missed me, wonder if they think I am a complete weirdo? I hope so, I like the idea of people thinking I am weird. Weird and eccentric :).

Yep up to the knee in resin, a green sticky bandage, graffitied with flower power stickers and co-ordinating nail polish, complete with my new barefoot sandals. The cast has been on for 6 weeks and is being taken off tomorrow YIPPEEEEE!!!! This is the reason why I haven’t been blogging about my trekking adventures with Rosie-Moomoo, why I haven’t been ‘avin it large on my bike and a delay to getting back on the slackline and the wall. Basically, life for me has been at a one leg stand still but I have still managed to practice a floor based yoga session in the morning and a yoga buzz session in the afternoon, if I didn’t do something, I think I would have gone mad with pent-up energy. Still managed to get to all my classes thanks to the love and help of participants and students, who went out of their way to share the lift rota to the classes and home again, I feel so loved.

So lesson learned here, even tho the journey from A to B and back again is just a few yards, and its chucking it down with rain, do not wear crocs as these things cause one to aquaplane, resulting in a fractured left fibula. Still no soft tissue damage, so looking forward to getting back on it pretty dam quick and my first mission is to take my dogs out and enjoy watching them running about free with mother nature. Happy days!

All the off beaten tracks that Rosie and I walk along are now flooded, so is the jetty on the lake as its anchored and the veranda, the drains are not coping so its very wet inside, hay ho. Instead we are keeping our walks very local indeed and its been quite interesting, plus Asbo my other dog is coming with us which is lush. Asbo unfortunately, has arthritis in his right hip and too much walking results in him being in pain for days. My outdoor practice has to be in my little studio, which has been quite nice as I can spend more time on dodgy asanas rather than concerning myself with time.

So our goal is to trek the entire length of Northumberland Avenue in one direction and then the other direction, Northumberland Avenue is approximately 1 mile long. We start at about 3/4 along the avenue walking up as Northumberland Avenue is an ascending trek out of the valley of Whitley. There are 3 parks on route, first one is Rabsons Park which has a large woodland over the back known as the Cowsey, we pop in there so Rosie can have a run around. Can’t let Asbo off you’d never see him again, little bugger! He knows that park so well and his hunting instincts are too strong for him to resist, he’d be off hunting anything small and fluffy to kill, especially cats, he hates cats! I don’t but he does. We come out of Rabsons onto Blagdon Road and then get back to Northumberland Avenue. We pass South Reading Community Centre where I teach my yoga lessons and next too the centre is a parade of shops, always bump in to a homie, love that. There is a library in Whitely, I must pop in and take a look, I was thinking of joining a library, would be so cool if its got what I need and the library is in walking distance to home. Next park along is Long Barn Lane recreational ground, popped in there, very flooded. Asbo started to flake a bit at this point so best we walk back towards home, we stayed on the cut through of Long Barn Lane and took the back roads towards home, so we were then going in a circle and then it started to rain again so perfect timing!

All in all we were about an hour, I felt so warm in fact was sweating a little, too many layers and I was wearing my rain hat. Asbo looks fine and very happy, Rosie is content, she is snoring and shortly I will do my second practice of the day and do an extra asana or 2. Will try again tomorrow with Asbo, see if we can get to the 3rd park on Northumberland Avenue but I wont push him.

I love that song, is from the album above, whenever it is played I have to sing it, loud and with intention. To be free, for me, is a state of mind. This morning on my walk with Rosie-Moomoo and as I was laying my mat for a short yoga practice, I remembered these lyrics.

On a morning trek we found another superb spot to practice yoga out there with Mother Nature and amongst the wildlife inhabitants. This morning’s trek is the shortest of the now three walks that Rosie-Moomoo and I are doing regularly each morning. Depending on weather (today was autumn fresh and sunny) and how much time we have before I have to go to work, depends on which of the three treks is best. Starting from home, we walk to the Basingstoke Road and then cut through Kennet Island onto the A33. We cross over and then follow Island Road until we get to the Recycling Centre, alongside the Recycling Centre is a path which follows a stream. We walk to the end of the path and that brings us out into Green Park Business Park, we cross the main circular road, through one of the business’s grounds and on to the public path that surrounds the lake. We follow the lake for a short while until we reach a large wooden jetty, that sits nicely on the lake and there I lay my mat and practice yoga.

The lake is obviously man made but it is beautifully done and the wildlife is amazing, despite Green Park being close to the A33 the area is very quiet. There are high tech, spacey glass buildings all around the lake but set quite far back and sit onto purpose built hills, obviously because the lake floods. There are a lot of trees scattered around and the lake plants have grown very high so I can easily forget for moment that I am in a business park. The jetty can be seen from a couple of the buildings and every now and then I have seen a couple of suited people walking around the lake, one or two have walked out on to the jetty whilst I was practicing, I think I surprised them but they didn’t say anything.

I lay my mat at an angle and near enough to the edge of the jetty, so I can view the length of the lake, watch whatever birds are floating by and I can see fish just under the surface of the water. As I practice, life on the lake just gets on with what is needed, the fish come to the surface of the water making ripples and on the odd occasion they make bubbles which pop, sounds so lovely as I vinyasa from one asana to the next. Rosie-Moomoo is exploring around the bank and at the water’s edge and pops back to check on me before she trots off to explore the other side of the bank.

I suppose the people working in the glass buildings are watching, I really don’t mind, on the contrary, I hope they like what they see. When I watch someone practicing yoga it always calms me, so I hope that my practice is calming them and even inspiring some to maybe try yoga.

Rosie-Moomoo and I finish, we walk back the way we came, from the lane we quickly pop in to the meadow so that Rosie can have a little longer exploring, before she goes back on the lead.

My home is urban and I trek it on a daily basis either walking, cycling or putting my yoga mat down where ever and whenever the mood takes me. I live right smack bang in the middle of Whitley Reading there are no roaming fields, no mountains, no seas just miles upon miles of roads, buildings, stressed out people and traffic jams. So what does a person who loves to be outdoors do when their choices are limited and the cash flow is like not flowing? We make the best of what we can and we turn it around and look for the positive in everything that we do, oh and try to keep it as cheap as chips.

I would like to spend the remainder of my life (I’m 48 now), being deliriously happy, content within myself, fit and able, healthy n sexy! Now is that too much to ask of Mother Nature? Of course it isn’t, all of those things we are all capable of, it’s all about changing the way you think about yourself, making some life changes and living for what you need not for what you want.

We all have our dreams including me, mine is to live in the country without any neighbours, surrounded by fields and wild forest animals …. oh and lets squeeze in a mountain. Well check me out, I live in a semidetached with a dope smoking devout Muslim on one side and an alcoholic on the other, kids joy riding mopeds up and down my street, husbands and wives knocking six shades of doodoo out of each other and an overcrowded street of pet cats n dogs, which if the dogs escape n chase the cats, is the closest I get to wild animals. But! Would I live anywhere else in Reading … would I heck, Whitley is without a doubt the only area of Reading that has a supportive community. I have lived in my house for 25 years bringing up my three daughters, I know everyone that lives on my street and each and every one of those neighbours can knock on my door for help, including the alcoholic and the dope smoking Muslim.

So what about my dream? Well if I trek about 4 miles westerly of my house I will reach open fields, no people, will witness wild forest animals, birds and insects, feel peace and quiet and it hasn’t cost me a penny, I keep very fit and my mind is balanced. What about the mountain? That’s a tuff one but hay Reading is in the Thames Valley so in most directions we have ruddy great big hills, that’ll do … happy days 🙂

So do what you can, with what you have, where you can and be grateful, makes life so much easier and happier.